=> THE blog devoted to news and commentary on the most iconic bird in American ornithology, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (IBWO)... and... sometimes other schtuff.
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"....The truth is out there."

-- Dr. Jerome Jackson, 2002 (... & Agent Fox Mulder)

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

-- Hamlet

"All truth passes through 3 stages: First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third,
it is accepted as self-evident."

-- Arthur Schopenhauer

Sunday, January 24, 2010

-- Questions --

Just some of the very basic initial questions I'd want Mr. Rainsong to answer:

How many days were Ivory-bills seen on? And how many total Ivory-bills seen?Were they seen both flying and perched? Were they seen going into or out of tree cavities? Were they seen foraging for food? Or ever seen on ground-level?What (approximately) is the closest distance you got to the Ivory-bills?Roughly speaking, how many Pileated Woodpeckers did you see on a typical day along Sabine? Also, how many Red-headed Woodpeckers on a typical day?Did you ever see both Pileateds and Ivory-bills together in same area?Other than Ivory-bills, did you see any other interesting or unusual birds during the trip?Did you cross paths with any other birders/hunters/outdoorsmen while on the expedition?What determined the 2-week limit to the planned outing?Do you have any receipts indicating your presence in the Sabine River Basin over the time you say you were there?Are the photos of perched or flying birds? Describe the pose of the bird(s) photographed? Is there video, of the birds or at least of the area?Were the photos in question taken by you or your accompanying photographer?I believe only two photos have been mentioned, taken by "film,"... what is on the remainder of film roll (is it all from the Sabine area), and how many total exposures are there? (or, if digital, clarify that that is the case)Who were the first two University persons you contacted about your findings/photos and how did you contact them?What led you to go to the specific area you searched? Or did you already know from past experience that the birds were there (if so, when did you learn of their presence)?Have you looked for Ivory-bills in other locations? states?What brand/model binoculars were you using, if you used binoculars?Did you write down any field notes of your encounters with the IBWOs in some sort of notebook?How much, if any, of your proposed book, was already written prior to the Sabine outing?Is this book to be self-published, and how many books have you self-published in the past?Will the book still be published if there is no monetary reward for your photos?How far in advance was the trip set up and organized before placing an ad for a traveling companion?How many previous trips had you made to this particular area?Who specifically was with you on the expedition, and will they be speaking about their experience at some point? Can they be contacted?There are any number of birders/scientists who might've loved to have gone on such an excursion; what possessed you to place an ad on Craigslist to find a partner likely with fewer credentials? Or was that just the quickest, broadest way to attract a wide variety of applicants on short notice?How many applicants did you interview and what criteria finalized your selection?Summarize your own previous birding experience and that of your traveling companion?Explain your logic in doing the "press-release" prior to having any photos confirmed or authenticated? What has been the chronology of your travels and activities since departing the Sabine area?What classes (major?) did you take at Iowa State University, and did you graduate?What is your current or most recent full-time occupation? (What permits you the time, opportunity, expense, to drive between various states/locales hand-delivering photos?)What are your main hobbies?What is your relationship to Kenneth Joseph Hepperle?Where does the name "Rainsong" come from?

If by any chance all these questions were answered satisfactorily, I have an entirely different line of questions I'd want to ask.----------------------------------------------------------------------

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This website hereby dedicated to the
memory of John V. Dennis and George H. Lowery Jr., whose optimism,
in the face of doubt and skepticism, wasnever in vain.**************************

"Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision, for the limits of the world."